Madam Alsha picked up the quill resting on the table and made a few quick marks in the leather-bound notebook.
"This notebook is an alchemical item layered with synchronization magic on it," she explained smoothly. "If you want to order food or drinks, simply make a mark on the page."
"It also displays active trade requests from other guests in real-time. You just need to leave a message under their listing along with your table number, and the magic will instantly notify them."
"Naturally, you can also write down your own trade offers for everyone else to see."
Damian was genuinely impressed.
Madam Alsha continued her introduction. "The seating areas here are all protected by localized illusion arrays. Only those sitting at the specific table can truly hear the conversation."
Damian had noticed this when he first arrived. The occupied tables appeared to be filled with guests making casual, quiet small talk. However, if he actively tried to eavesdrop, the words became a completely unintelligible buzzing sound. These were all illusions created by the illusion arrays.
A few moments later, a server arrived bearing two elegant glasses of a vibrant red drink.
"This is red iris flower wine from Red Kite Manor," Madam Alsha said, clinking her glass gently against his. "It has a very unique taste, and production is strictly limited each year. I hope you find something worthwhile at today's exchange."
After finishing her drink, Madam Alsha gracefully excused herself; as the host, she had a very busy schedule ahead of her.
Damian picked up the notebook on the table and flipped past the menu. The subsequent pages were filled with live ink displaying various requests: items or info for sale, requests to buy or exchange spells and Meditation Methods, and even bounty missions. It reminded Damian heavily of a quest panel from an online game.
He scoured the pages for a while, focusing on information about spells and High-level Meditation Techniques. Unfortunately, after scanning all the available information, he found none regarding the trade of a High-level Meditation Technique.
Damian intended to see the Potions of this world first. He still had many Potions in his pocket and needed to select some inconspicuous ones to trade for spells.
He planned to exchange the item he had obtained previously for Potion recipes. The function of that eyeball magical artifact overlapped entirely with the magic he had already mastered; he already had magic that could see through invisibility.
He flipped back to a listing that had caught his eye.
"Selling Tier 1 Healing Potion recipe, Tier 1 blue water flower Sobriety Potion recipe, and the Tier 1 magic Invisible Hand. PM for price, or will trade for a Tier 1 magical artifact."
Since knowledge like recipes and spells could be sold multiple times, a Tier 1 magical artifact was highly valued. A Tier 1 magical artifact could easily be exchanged for at least three Tier 1 Potion recipes or spells.
That eyeball was a Tier 1 magical artifact. Generally, those at the Wizard Apprentice level relied entirely on these Tier 1 magical artifacts and Tier 1 Potions.
Damian picked up the quill and scribbled a reply under the listing. "Tier 1 magical artifact available for trade. Offering it for your recipes and magic. Table 16."
A few moments later, fresh ink bloomed on the paper. "Coming right over."
Damian didn't have to wait long before a middle-aged Male Wizard approached his table. The man's hair was wild and unkempt, making him look like a mad scientist.
"Are you the one looking to trade a magical artifact for Potion recipes?" the wizard asked straightforwardly, taking a seat. "What kind of effect does the magical artifact have?"
Damian nodded and took out the eyeball magical artifact, saying, "This eyeball can break through invisibility."
The middle-aged Male Wizard picked up the eyeball, examining it closely. "What's the effective range?"
"The radius is about 10 to 20 meters," Damian explained calmly. "The specific range depends entirely on how much mana is injected."
The middle-aged Male Wizard nodded with some satisfaction. "I'll trade you a Tier 1 Healing Potion recipe, a Tier 1 blue water flower Sobriety Potion recipe, the Tier 1 magic Invisible Hand, and an 'Encyclopedia of Northern Potion Ingredients' for your magical artifact. Is that acceptable?"
Damian thought for a moment. This perfectly matched the standard market rates he had gathered from the buying and selling information posted by others. He immediately agreed to the trade.
After completing the exchange, Damian left the hall and returned to the Common Room to examine his newly acquired gains.
After confirming the room was secure from surveillance, he first tried the "Invisible Hand." This magic required condensing 16 Runic Scripts within his mind. Once cast, it created an Invisible Hand that could be used to grab objects or even attack enemies.
With the enhancement of the Pitch-Black Fingertip Bone magical artifact, the "Invisible Hand" magic could be cast in just 3 seconds.
The spell's function did overlap somewhat with the Levitation Charm. While Damian could already levitate objects and enemies, the "Invisible Hand" allowed for more delicate manipulation.
Most importantly, he could use the "Invisible Hand" to lift himself into the air. As long as he maintained the "Invisible Hand," he could achieve true, sustained flight for extended periods!
The healing potion obtained from this trade could recover shallow wounds, and the blue water flower Sobriety Potion could dispel certain abnormal states that caused mental cloudiness.
Reading through the parchment, Damian realized that the underground market's brewing methods shared many commonalities with standard Hogwarts potion-making. However, most of the ingredients used for the recovery Potion were things Damian had never seen before.
The main ingredient of the blue water flower Sobriety Potion was the blue water flower he was familiar with, which needed to be refined into an essence. Damian had specifically chosen to trade with this Wizard specifically because he saw the name "blue water flower." He theorized that the blue water flower Sobriety Potion might significantly aid him in practicing Aemon's Basic Meditation Method.
Damian put away the items he had acquired and continued to examine the notebook in the Common Room, wanting to see if there were any suitable bounty missions he could take.
Suddenly, a missing person bounty with an unusual reward appeared on the page. "Collect information regarding the owner of the West Street Tavern. This person is currently missing. Reward: 1–10 Northland kingdom gold coins, depending on the information provided. Valid indefinitely. Left by Link Watson, Kingdom Court Wizard."
It was a bounty posted by Link, the wizard he had met during his previous travels, and he had even left his name on it.
Northland kingdom gold coins were not actually made of gold but were an alchemical product. Gold itself was an alchemical material. To avoid affecting currency circulation, the Northern Wizard Alliance issued currency made using advanced Alchemy with anti-counterfeiting features.
The smallest unit was the Northland kingdom silver coin. A 1-denomination Northland kingdom gold coin could be exchanged for 1,000 denominations of Northland kingdom silver coins.
Low-level magical artifacts, Potions, and magic could be bought with kingdom gold coins. The value of a Tier 1 magic was roughly dozens to hundreds of kingdom gold coins.
For high-level wizard supplies, wizards preferred to trade with Magic Stones. A standard-sized Magic Stone filled with mana was worth about 1,000 denominations of kingdom gold coins.
Magic Stones were a hard currency in the Wizarding World. They were alchemical creations with many uses, capable of storing mana and having Runic Magic engraved through the "Magic Stone Engraving Technique."
Furthermore, the exchange rate of Magic Stones to kingdom gold coins was not fixed and would fluctuate.
The Magic Stone engraved with "Mage Armor" that Link had given Damian was exactly this standard, highly-valued size.
Link had given Damian the Magic Stone not only to apologize for Anna's impulsiveness, but also to thank him for saving Chris and his daughter. Moreover, after witnessing Damian's extraordinary strength at such a young age, the senior official clearly intended to buy his lasting friendship.
[75 STONES] - Unlock1 Bonus Chapter
[150 STONES] - Unlock 2 Bonus Chapters
[300 STONES] - Unlock 3 Bonus Chapters